moonspinner55

(2012-04-27 18:58:45)

An extremely well-crafted, well-acted movie that never quite takes off...

Sensitive drama from writer David Lindsay-Abaire, based upon his play,about a benumbed married couple, mourning the death of their littleboy, who seek different paths to deal with their grief; the wife formsa tentative friendship with the teenager who hit the child accidentallywith his car, while the husband contemplates having an affair. The filmunfolds carefully, and at times beautifully, but the bloom somehowfades with about fifteen minutes left on the clock--when one can almostsense the filmmakers' dilemma in bringing this story to a satisfyingclose. Director John Cameron Mitchell has an artistic eye, and he doessuperlative work with his actors, but many of the stronger scenes (suchas Nicole Kidman slapping a woman in the supermarket, or Aaron Eckhartaccusing Kidman of erasing a video from his phone) aren't built upon.The narrative is rather slipshod; instead of a forceful whole, we getintriguing episodes. **1/2 from ****

(2012-04-27 08:06:52)

Moving portrait of the aftermath of grief

After their young son dies in a tragic accident, the father and mother go through the stages of grief, anger, rage, blame, shame, guilt, and temptation in this nicely done story. Eckhart and Kidman are cast well as the parents, who struggle to find their way through the rest of their lives without their son.

randompretender

(2012-04-27 11:22:53)

The inconvenience of tragedy

I'm not sure I can craft all of my negative thoughts for this movieinto useful statements for this review, but the least I can say is thatRabbit Hole fails to reflect grief in any believable way. I mean, thepros for the movie are the actors and the appropriate and interestingcomic drawn by the boy about parallel universes, but that's it for me.It's not that I don't want people to be able to get over the death of achild, but the way it was done in this film just seems wrong. From thevery beginning, The parents are living their comfortable lives, totallylacking depression or grief, and the fact that their son died recentlyis merely a distraction rather than the focus. There is no disorder orchaos to say that something terrible had happened. I am biased to adegree admittedly, in that the death of a child "should" be life-ruining, or at the very least, life-altering, so this movie willprobably make sense to some out there. I just don't relate to theprotagonists and I felt so strongly about it I made an account to makethis my first review on IMDb. I guess it's true what that say aboutnegative feedback spreading more than positive, but what can I say

(2012-04-26 20:53:49)

Microscopic exploration of grieving process proves illuminating despite narrow characterizations

*** This review may contain spoilers ***From the outset, one must recognize that writing a film about a couples' grief after their four year old is hit by a car and killed, is quite difficult. This is what 'Rabbit Hole', originally a stage play by David Lindsay-Abaire, attempts to do. It's difficult precisely because there is no visible antagonist which an audience can identify with. Rather, the antagonist is abstract--you could even describe it as a 'force' which the grieving parents must fight against. A force, which threatens to consume the protagonists--not in their grief, but in an overwhelming anger toward one another.Both Nicole Kidman's character 'Becca' and her husband 'Howie' (Aaron Eckhart) agree in theory that eight months after the accident, they both must 'move on'. But it's Becca who recognizes that Howie is still too angry about what happened and is unable to grieve. That's why she refuses to participate in support-group meetings, which she regards as a form of denial--the couples who participate in the groups, are merely going through the motions and are not in touch with their true feelings. Becca goes further and insists that she and Howie give up their dream house in the suburbs--that way Howie will not be able to obsess over their lost child if he's not in proximity to all those objects that remind him of their shattering loss. But Howie cannot give up those objects--at the film's midpoint, the relationship between the couple is severely tested after Becca accidentally erases a short video of their deceased son on Howie's cell phone. We can see that Howie's anger is driving Becca away from him and she resorts to doing things for herself that may bring an end to her inner turmoil (Becca, who truly wants to move on, finds Howie's anger is causing her to become angry too!).So Becca decides to test herself by approaching the 'inmost cave' of her greatest fear. That would be of course having to meet up with Jason, the teenage boy, who was driving the car that killed their son. Becca tests herself to see whether she will be consumed by her own irrational anger (after all, the boy was not actually responsible at all for the accident). As it turns out, Becca bonds with the boy, and their relationship connotes that she has moved further along than Howie, on the complex spectrum of mourning and grief. Jason's imaginative Rabbit Hole comic book, a tale of a parallel universe where this tragedy hasn't happened, brings great comfort to Becca. In a powerful scene, she's also now able to weep, as she sits in her car and watches Jason drive off with friends (in slow motion), after his high school graduation.Rabbit Hole's subplots, whether it be Becca's relationship with her mother (who also suffered a loss of a child), Becca's jealousy toward her sister now pregnant and Howie's flirtation with the now separated Gaby from the support group, only seem to be distractions in comparison with the principal dramatic moment of the film--the confrontation between Howie and Jason. How a grown man can yell at a practically defenseless teenager underscores the horrific effect the accident had on Howie's psyche. Fortunately, the blowup is cathartic, and although Howie is not willing to meet with Jason and apologize, he asks Becca to act as an intermediary--she will go to the boy and reassure him that Howie's crazy outburst was a temporary aberration and he really didn't mean what he said.So 'Rabbit Hole' must be admired for keeping one's interest despite the lack of a tangible, visible antagonist. Nonetheless, I urge everyone to read A.O. Scott's excellent review of 'Rabbit Hole' in the New York Times who recognizes that Becca and Howie are not "grounded in any recognizable social world". Rabbit Hole is a story of obsession (in this case, a working out of grief). Since they are so obsessed (and we as the audience are made to focus so much on this obsession), we find out little about the details of the characters' lives outside this focused conflict. Hence the portraits of the principal characters should be viewed as somewhat limited.Despite the characters' limitations, one cannot ignore the excellent performances of Ms. Kidman and Mr. Eckhardt. In the end, the performers leave us on a note of hope--the simple act of holding hands suggests that Howie is now ready to put his anger behind and move forward with Becca, toward a lasting recovery.

KineticSeoul

(2012-04-26 13:22:03)

Not all that entertaining, but sort of engrossing and has some great acting in it

This is a decent movie with good amount of emotion. The plot isbasically about a parent losing a child, which has been done many timesin other movies. But what drives this movie is the emotion and actingthat is put into it. This film really isn't for everyone and somepeople will find this film pretty dull and not all that interesting.Which to some degree I have to agree with, this film just doesn't havea amazing plot or anything like that and will bore some audiences. Butthe film does have depth and the acting especially by Aaron Eckhart ispretty darn good at times. The other cast member put on a believableperformance as well. Although a lot of people that watch films, watchfilms in order to leave reality behind for a while. But the realisticaspect of this movie has some power and depth to it which makes itpassable. Despite it not being a super entertaining movie it is stillengrossing drama that is put together in a decent manner at the end ofit.6.8/10

jburtroald95

(2012-04-26 08:09:40)

It's worth seeing

Nicole Kidman truly is a precious cinematic gem, contrary to thepopular opinion of casual moviegoers. Her performances often has acertain passive elegance about them that gives her a restrained andsophisticated screen presence. What she lacks in versatility – all ofher screen portraits possess very similar sets of characteristics – shemakes up for in adaptability as we see her style continually provingsuccessful in all sorts of films from the family fantasy-adventure TheGolden Compass (2007) to the romantic war epic Cold Mountain (2003).Her latest project, coming after the beautiful Australia (2008) and thedazzling Nine (2009), is a departure from escapism and a return to thesort of cold, hard realism that she has kept away from since her Oscar-winning performance in The Hours (2002). As an experience, Rabbit Hole is very temperate and withoutastonishment given its very mundane setting and mostly everyday mood,and is superficially not as powerful as other dramas, but given itsmeaningfulness concepts and deeper subject matter, it deserves to beconsidered as something above mediocre. The fact that it centres on amarried couple's difficulty in coping with the tragic death of theirsmall son, is quite well-known, but the film's intelligent non-expositional conveyance of this information, to anyone that might notalready have known, almost suggests that screenplay writer DavidLindsay-Abaire took the audience's prior knowledge into account.However, the same is also done with several of the secondary plotpoints, such as the identity and attitude of the person who ran the boyover, and the mother's uncomfortable situation with her extendedfamily, which is no stranger to such events. As mentioned before, themain focus here is to realistically capture the visible details of thisscenarios, and allow the viewers to dissect it for themselves.Analytically, it is mostly about the convoluted awkwardness surroundingthese characters, and the sacrilegious pessimism that arises duringthese times of immense grief.Directed by John Cameron Mitchell, it stars alongside Kidman, who playsthe mother in another role that has earned acclaim from the Academy,Aaron Eckhart as the father, Dianne Weist as the grandmother, and MilesTeller as the well-meaning teenage boy who just happened to be backingout of the driveway at the wrong time.

woinaroschy_1979

(2012-04-17 20:05:54)

Very good!

There is not much action going on in this movie or a complicatedplot...it's basically about a couple loosing their child in an accidentand how each one of them is coping with this loss. I have to say thesituation is brilliantly described, absolutely real, balancing betweendenial, pain, love, hurt, anger , bitterness, tenderness and all therest. It sure gives you a lot to think about. I have not lost a child,but I think watching this movie I can only begin to understand what itmeans. I also think that you could relate to this movie if you lostsomeone dear, not necessarily a child. How do you go on? How do youbare the pain? How does life go on? The acting is fantastic, and I especially appreciated Becca's mother,who is not an intellectual person or highly educated, but can put intowords so well how the pain feels like and how it transforms in time. Ofcourse Nicole Kidman plays very well, but somehow I found that it's notHER acting that matters, it's the entire movie and atmosphere and theinteractions between the different characters that is important. I have to admit that I cried a lot during the movie, it's sad, but alsoteaches you a lot.I'm giving it only an 8/10 because in 2 points I'm not so convinced: 1.Howie being faithful to his wife...just doesn't seem realistic somehow.I'm not saying now every man will definitely cheat his wife in such acircumstance, but I'm sure the percentage of faithful husbands in sucha situation has to be in the range of 1 to 10%..and they can very wellcheat their wives loving them. 2.The acting of the kid that run theirchild over...I was expecting a much more scarred and remorsefulperson..he sees Becca crying her heart out, but he goes to prom andenjoys himself! Not convincing at all. Definitely worth watching, this is Oscar material!

david_inuk

(2012-04-16 22:37:59)

Amazing acting, but missing a beginning, middle and end!

My title kinda sums it up.The acting feels very real, and it is an excellent portrayal of theopposing ends of the struggle to deal with bereavement.The actual event which put these parents in this situation wasexplained in a very clever manner, in drips and drabs over the firstpart of the film. However, whilst I was glued to the screen, captivatedby their brilliant acting, I kept on waiting for something to happen.But, despite my high expectations, nothing did.Actually there is an end, but compared to the slow pace of the film itfeels like an afterthought instead of part of the story.

tanelteder

(2012-04-15 14:58:49)

makes you feel good

Rabbit Hole is a wonderful drama. I thought it might be good. Ihonestly didn't think that it could be that good. It's sad tale. Themovie is more suitable to people who are more mature. People who havekids or who have lost someone really dear might find this one a realpleasure. Younger viewers who enjoy mostly American-pie-style moviesdon't find it much interesting. Everybody, who likes good dramas whichare based on a tragic stories and concentrates on the relationshipsbetween characters, will fancy this film very much.Aaron Eckhart and Nicole Kidman are a great couple here. I clearly seewhy Kidman personally chose Eckhart to play his husband. They are sonatural. It was pleasing to see those two together. A definite match.I must admit, the story is quite somber, but I found myself happy afterseeing it. That's probably because I was fascinated by the greatperformances of both lead actors. It may work for you too.

Marty Young

(2012-04-15 08:47:27)

Made my friends cry.

With such an impressive cast, I was very curious to see what JohnCameron Mitchell was up to with "Rabbit Hole". His older film, "ShortBus" was so explicit, I was wondering how he got such high caliperactors on board. This film is nothing like "Short Bus". No shockfactors, no pushing the envelope. Just a wonderful small film. I mustsay he did a great job, and so did the cast. It does drag a bit inplaces, but all the actors bring a lovely depth to their roles, myfriends and I all got caught up their lives, and related to theheartbreaking ghosts they were dealing with. If you have children, orhave ever lost someone, this film may keep you company.

(2012-04-13 23:28:02)

My Only Son & Only Child

I have lost my only son and only child, so with that said I can truly relate. Some of the movie does not face true reality, but is very compelling.When you truly love someone you give to them whatever they need, what ever they long for, while having selflessness, unselfishness, self-sacrifice, and altruism. This is how we all love our children!Today I saw a trailer of a movie called "Rabbit Hole!"The film is starring Nicole Kidman, the mother, whose name is Becca and Aaron Eckhart whose name is Howie. It is about a Mom and Dad who lost their child, Danny. The scene takes place at a grief support session in a dim lit area with folding chairs in a circle along with a group of grieving parents. They kind of fidget and the room is silent. One of the Fathers in this grief support group starts to speak of seeing his child in his dreams. Another Father mentions that "God took her." One of the mothers starts the conversation by saying, "God needed another Angel!" Nicole Kidman, Becca interrupts her at that point while her husband Aaron Eckhart, Howie turns his head to listen. She replies back to the women, "Why didn't God just make another Angel?" "Well, he is God After all, "Why didn't he just make another Angel?" "Hmmm?" Howie, the father,feels Becca is trying to ERASE their son. I sincerely believe that my child will never just be erased. I will not let that happen. I think about my son constantly. The pain is colder and darker than you can ever imagine! I will never say good-bye to him. I honestly truly do not understand why our children were the chosen ones and I never will! I do not believe for one second that a loving God is pulling strings while picking and choosing who is going to be next! You must remember, Nicole Kidman is an exceptional actress. She has three beautiful children and is a millionaire along with Aaron Eckhart. They have not truly experienced any of this torture that we go through day in and day out, but are only portraying a part in the movie as a mother and father who suffer with incomprehensible grief after losing their child.I am just ordinary folk if you want to choose that word. We live in the real world where we seek out each other to look for compassion and understanding. The loss of my child will never fade and stay with me until the day I die:::::::::::::::::::::Tears!My Beautiful Son and Precious Angel, I'll Love You Always and Forever! Mom

kosmasp

(2012-04-13 03:38:44)

Stranger than ... reality

Actually not really stranger, but as mad maybe. This drama will appealto some people and appall others. Nothing new with that observation ofcourse. But I can tell you that even though I'm not a big Kidman fan, Ireally liked her in this one. She really went all out with that role.Of course all out, does not mean overacting, but in this case, quitethe contrary.So the understated performances (from everyone) really carry the movie.You may not agree on some of the viewpoints of our characters, buteveryone has some perspective on different aspects of life. I'm notgonna mention what exactly is the hanging over the heads of our maincharacters here, just in case you haven't read about it. It's a nicereveal, if you have no clue (although you kinda will guess where it isgoing). And it raises some interesting questions. Nice work then

ajs-10

(2012-04-05 01:10:11)

I guess I found more to this one than most...

This film is based on a play by David Lindsay-Abaire who also wrote thescreenplay. I must admit I'm usually quite wary of films based onplays; they usually turn out to have far too much dialogue and verylittle cinematic quality. This is an exception, the story moves alongquite nicely from location to location and it doesn't get bogged downtoo much with the dialogue. Given the subject matter there are somequite wordy and dramatic scenes though. I will give you my thoughtsafter this very brief summary.Several months ago Howie and Becca lost their four year old son in anroad accident. The film deals with the different ways the couple dealwith their grief and how this affects their relationships, not justwith each other, but with everyone around them. Becca's mother, Nat,and her sister, Izzy, are always there for her but she finds a kind ofsolace in the friendship she strikes up with the boy who was drivingthe car that day, Jason. Howie goes to group therapy and seemsunwilling to move on, always clinging to the past. A woman at group,who's husband has recently left her, Gaby, may be able to give him whatBecca can't, but is he willing to take that leap? I'll leave it thereor the Spoiler Police (Emotional Drama's Division) will be stealing allthe tissues.Really well made with a beautiful musical score by Anton Sanko whichaccompanies the visuals perfectly. One of the things this film is notedfor is the Oscar-nominated performance by Nicole Kidman as Becca, andshe was really great. Almost as good, IMO, was Aaron Eckhart as Howie.Also worthy of note were; Dianne Wiest as Nat, Miles Teller as Jason,Tammy Blanchard as Izzy and Sandra Oh as Gaby.I found this film quite hard to watch at first, I think if you havesuffered a loss in your life then it will be quite a hard one to view.Fortunately I stuck with it and I'm very glad I did. As the storyunfolded I began to maybe recognise things in my own behaviour, notnecessarily bad things, but things that I could relate to. This allowedme to better understand the characters Becca and Howie and have somesympathy for their plight. At the end of the day I found it a verypowerful, sometimes harrowing but at the same time quite a beautifulfilm, one that I would highly recommend.My score: 8.5/10 IMDb Score: 7.2/10 (based on 16,419 votes at the timeof going to press).

(2012-04-04 15:33:04)

Rabbit Hole - Reviewed by Haunted Flower

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(2012-04-02 08:31:37)

Now Here is a Real Story

This review is from: Rabbit Hole (DVD) This is a real story. A real movie. If you can take the time to watch it and not be bored by human emotions and the time taken to explore them then you will be enriched by the viewing of this film. So much better than the other Award winners of 2010 that prey on human suffering to amuse and entertain. Black Swan and The Figher were just torture without relief. This movie explores emotions with compassion and understanding.

lewiskendell

(2012-04-01 19:21:24)

One lost son, two lost souls.

A very powerful movie about a husband and wife who lost their young sonin an accident eight months ago, and the stress it puts on their livesand relationship. Rabbit Hole is full of genuine moments and gives avery realistic look at the possible effect such a tragic event can haveon people. Nicole Kidman gives her best performance in several years as themother, Becca. It's nice to see that she still has the capability topull off a deeply humanistic and complex role like this. Even whenBecca is being a very unlikable character, Kidman has ways of remindingus why she's that way, and of the barely hidden turmoil roiling beneaththe woman's surface. Aaron Eckhart is great, as well. His give and take with Kidman groundsthe movie in the reality it needs to be effective. I'm not quite sure if the "rabbit hole" metaphor of the title worked aswell as it should have, and the conclusion of the movie didn't totallyfeel like a natural progression of the 80 minutes that came before it,but those are my only complaints. The great performances of the twoleads elevate this over similar recent movies about the loss of lovedones (like The Greatest, for example), even if the overall packagedoesn't fully fulfill it's potential. 

(2012-03-30 10:02:48)

Surprisingly Accurate

Just to add a bit of support for the writer's of this story I too have twice experienced the loss of someone too young to die and I recognized many of the emotions and thoughts portrayed in this story. Some would want to carry, and they should, that memory and loss for whatever time that it takes to heal. The best cure (unfortunately, not explored by the movie) is to eventually turn those losses into a positive by enhancing the lives of others. I would agree with the controversial idea presented in the movie questioning how a God could allow the youngest and most innocent life to end, and in many instances, quite uncomfortably violent ways. I also agree that the response, "because more angels are needed" is a pacifier in disguise for those still living.

itamarscomix

(2012-03-29 15:28:05)

Outstanding drama from John Cameron Mitchell

John Cameron Mitchell will probably never live down the fact that hemade a name for himself as the writer, director and star of thestylish, extravagant cult classic Hedwig and the Angry Inch, but withRabbit Hole he proved that he has a real understanding of human natureand everything it takes to be a first-rate director. It's aminimalistic, subtle movie, astoundingly effective and unnerving, itaverts dozens of opportunities to be over-dramatic and predictable, andit may just be the best film of 2010, thanks to Mitchell's directorialwork and thanks to amazing performances from Kidman and Eckhart, maybethe strongest of both their careers.

priyantha-bandara

(2012-03-23 18:05:25)

There is so much beauty in this sad and depressing movie.

Becca and Howie is not a happy couple any more. They have lost theiryoung son Danny eight months ago and now the big house seems to havegone empty with the lives of the people who are still living in it.They struggle to recover, yet day by day engulfed by the grief doesn'tseem to find a connection to be happy as a couple. They try counseling,recovery groups yet within them every moment of their life is a painfulstep. Both Becca and Howie become distant and try to find their comfortin others. Becca starts to meet up with a teenager who apparently thedriver of the car which killed Danny. And Howie finds comfort with awoman who attends to the group therapy.You may judge each move of these two people countless times. But thestory thoughtfully lay down the decisions by itself by the time the endtitles role. More than being just a mundane drama with a familiar plotRabbit Hole delivers powerful performances and twists in the storywhich makes it special.Nicole Kidman is annoyingly yet wonderfully portrays Becca which is avery challenging role in her recent career. She deserves every awardand the nominations for this role. And Aaron Eckhart delivers the bestperformance that I can recall of him. For him its pure rage andaffection bundled in to one staggering movie. And the rest of the castare well balanced and gives the maximum contribution on and off withoutmaking the story move any way further from the main subject.There is so much beauty in this sad and depressing movie. You may findmoments that shock you and moment that make you annoyed. And momentswhich absolutely make you helpless. That's the power of Rabbit Hole.Two thumbs up!! my reviews at flickshout.tk

joeaneal

(2012-03-23 17:00:36)

Best upbeat Movie of 2010 - But are audiences brave enough to see it.

This is without a doubt the best movie of 2010. The acting is firstrate, the photography beautiful. the story is a classic tragedy withlight at the end of the tunnel of grief. Thirty two years ago I lost my12 year old daughter Laura in an automobile accident driven by a teen.There were plenty of people to blame, yet blame would not do either hermother or me any good in our grief. Each of us grieved differently, butneither of us any more or less than the other. It was all consuming fora very long time. Neither of us were capable of supporting each other,we needed others to turn to. We found others and that helped. At leastto deaden the unbearable grief. We divorced but in the memory of outdaughter we respect and love the other. It was rare to find others that could relate to my loss. Groups cameyears after the loss.Amongst my friends, everyone was kind but few wanted to discuss thesubject of death of a child. It appeared unbearable for them to go tothat place. The screen play was excellent, dead on. The only objection I have tothe whole movie is the group therapy experience when the major playersdisrespect the other participants with inside jokes. In the groups Iattended this was not even a possibility. Everyone was hurting too badto want to hurt someone else. The rest of the screenplay was a truerepresentation of my experience in every way. The writers must haveexperienced a similar loss to get it so right. This is superb storytelling. This is the best movie I have seen about the death of a child.Yes, my eyes filled with tears during the movie, but I love that mymemories are still alive.A child loved is a loving child........